Details

ISBN-10: 0226106748
ISBN-13: 9780226106748
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publish Date: 07/06/1998
Dimensions: 8.39" L, 5.09" W, 0.47" H

Tears and Saints

Translator: Ilinca Zarifopol-Johnston

Paperback

Price: $26.00

Overview

Tears and Saints focuses not on martyrs or heroes but on the mystics – primarily female – famous for their keening spirituality and intimate knowledge of God. Their Christianity was anti-theological, anti-institutional, and based on intuition and sentiment. Many, such as Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, and Saint John of the Cross, have produced classic works of mystical literature; but Cioran celebrates many more minor and unusual figures as well. Following Nietzsche, Cioran brings to light the political element hidden in saints’ lives. In his hands, their charitable deeds are much less interesting than their thirst for pain and their equally powerful capacity to endure it. What Cioran calls the “voluptuousness of suffering” is epitomized by Margaret Mary Alacoque’s classic statement: “None of my sufferings has been equal to that of not having suffered enough.” Behind this suffering and their uncanny ability to renounce everything through ascetic practices, Cioran detects a fanatical will to power.

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Reviews
"Like Nietzsche, Cioran is an important religious thinker. His book intertwines God and music with passion and tears. . . . [Tears and Saints] has a chillingly contemporary ring that makes this translation important here and now".

– Booklist

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Details

ISBN-10: 0226106748
ISBN-13: 9780226106748
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publish Date: 07/06/1998
Dimensions: 8.39" L, 5.09" W, 0.47" H
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